Keys to New Course Development
Implementing a Learning
Management System (
Let’s examine the key strategy
of course development.
Who are the
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) within your organization?
It takes just a few minutes to identify colleagues, training specialists
and others with
expertise and materials pertaining to the course, even if created in diverse formats. Also,
are there potential developers you can recruit for the course cultivation projects
on an ad hoc basis?
What content
already exists, and how can I incorporate it? Take inventory of existing materials
and resources. Research
possible sources for learning content (MS PowerPoint, Word files, video
material, flash movies, web sites, HTML and text, etc.). In many cases, you
may already have web-deliverable components and just need an authoring tool to
create the logical arrangement of learning screens. In other cases, you
may need to convert text from word processing format to HTML format. Classroom
and CD-ROM-based learning tools often generate large files that are too slow to
load over the internet. Conversion to streaming video format or Flash
movies can prepare these multimedia materials for use in a network-based
learning environment.
Where do my learners
go to find online content and support material? First, decide which materials
are online content and which would make better support materials. Instructional material is needed
to teach the concepts and knowledge you want to disseminate
online. Information that covers special cases, alternative methods or
additional examples can be organized as support documentation. You can use
hyperlinks, document libraries or simple reference notes. One way to
differentiate training material from reference material is to consider frequency,
immediacy and criticalness.
When do I
need an introductory course to lead to more advanced courses? Most training experts agree that
the cardinal rule of authoring is to make sure courses are not overwhelming in
size. Even within the course, you want to make manageable sections and
possibly even divide the course into multiple sections and classes.
Why is it important to group courses? Job requirements, experience levels
and the diversity of your learners will help you determine how to assemble
training material and structure course offerings to effectively cover a
specific subject, competency or certification.
How should I structure my online courses? The
Once you examine your
available resources and gather the components of your course development, we
can help you plan and develop your online training projects.